[TowerTalk] Co-ax, and didn't K7LXC say 'no more BPL?'

[Kelly Taylor]

Regarding coaxial cable: unless I had extremely long runs, or had excess
monetary capacity, I think it's pretty hard to beat brand-name RG-213 for
most HF applications. Flexible, UV resistant, centre conductor not prone to
migration, solid dielectric to avoid water wicking to the extent of 9913 and
once you get to the top of the tower, no need to worry about pigtails. I'll
admit that the longer the run, the greater the case for more expensive
cable.

Be that as it may, you can always spend more money if you want, and far be
it for me to restrict the economics of the coaxial cable industry. But if
you do spend more, and end up with inflexible cable, I wouldn't worry for
one moment about any insertion loss by having to go to a pigtail. Just do
the connectors right and be happy knowing you won't be able to tell the
difference. The fraction of a dB lost to the connector is more than paid for
by increased reliability and the lower loss of the main cable run.

I'd apply the same logic to VHF and UHF, I'd just make sure the choice of
connectors was correct.

There was a link a while back to an excellent treatise on PL-259
installation. Wish I still had it, but if I need it, I know it's in the
archives somewhere. The main premise was using the right tools and butane
torches to get enough heat into the connector body quickly enough to avoid
melting things. And leaving plenty of slack for the inevitable time you nick
the conductor, in which case just chop it off and start over.

73, kelly
ve4xt